All I want to do is just ride my raspberry Platypus. I have goals, a 3,000 mile one for 2020, in fact, and I am 17.1 miles from reaching it. But instead of basking in that, I have been riding around stressed out by all the new sounds/ticks/rubs/whirs that my new bike is making. Add to that the extra stress of not having the capability to fix things myself, which means a 40 minute drive across town to the bros at the shop, who now know me on a first name basis. Embarrassing.
Let me be clear - Rivendell built the perfect frame. It’s getting all these parts and wiring and fenders and gears to work, that’s the problem. I tell you, I remember this with the Clem, too. I could tell it was a great bike, so much fun to ride, not that I was having much fun... I was riding around, swerving, with my head cocked analyzing foreign sounds and vibrations coming from this strange beast beneath me. Maybe the shop installed stuff wrong, I’d think (which was the case more than once). Maybe something has come loose and the bike is about to fall apart beneath me, I’d think. But the Clem got all ironed out and became perfect and now here I am at ground zero again with this pretty Platypus. Today I went 22 miles, but not without complications. Both the Clem and the Platypus have something rubbing. I rode around on the Platypus in bad form leaning my ear to hear - “Is that one sound or two sounds?” “Is that rubbing or a strange vibrating?” “Is this what the Schmidt dyno hub sounds like? I don’t think my Shutter Precision makes this sound.” “Maybe it’s the fender.” “What if the tape is coming off the dyno wiring?” “I think that screw is too close!” Lastly, the stem started clicking when I apply light pressure to it. And this game has been going on since the Friday after Thanksgiving when I assumed custody of this rowdy Platypus. All I want is to stop playing this game. Ride my bike in peace, which means listening to the familiar whirring and humming as I pedal. I want to feel how nice the ride is, instead of being distracted by sounds that could be indicative of doom. I don’t want rubs, clicks, or anything janky going on. I want familiar! It has me completely bummed out; a heaviness of heart, that’s what I’m having. What I want to know if if the rest of you experience this agony. It’s not easy to admit, for fear of looking ungrateful. Fact is, I am wholeheartedly grateful for this bike, and it is one of the few good things to happen to me in 2020. But will this long-awaited bike ever get straightened out? So, who else can relate and what stories do you have? It would feel nice if this was normal, instead of being unique to mechanically-challenged me. In the next post I’ll include a video what the bike was doing to me today. Name that sound! Leah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/04224585-c84d-4ace-9e3f-fbea837b88a5n%40googlegroups.com.
